Goliaths
Goliaths, tall, pale-skinned, and powerful, originate from the wilder wastes of the world, primarily the bleak tundras and wild mountains of Wyldcrown. They very rarely wander far from their homes, but move their homes with them when doing so. Their society is inherently tribal, based on a system of earned castes, with the main goal for many goliaths being to earn a place in their tribe, or die trying. Different bloodlines and tribes vie for supremacy in a constant struggle for social status and power. Description Most goliaths wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great physical power. Their spirits take after the wandering wind, making them nomads who wander from peak to peak. Few folk can claim to have seen a goliath, and fewer still can claim friendship with one. Some types of goliaths originate from volcanic or ice waste regions instead. Culture & Society Goliaths place a great deal of importance on self-sufficiency and individual skill. They have a compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Goliaths love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their skills. Despite this need for individuality, goliaths understand that the tribe survives longer than the individual in the unforgiving wilds. Among goliaths, any adult who can't contribute to the tribe is expelled. A lone goliath has little chance of survival, especially an older or weaker one. Goliaths have little pity for adults who can't take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the goliath concept of fair play. A permanently injured goliath is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a goliath dies attempting to keep up, or the goliath slips away in the night to seek the cold will of fate. In some ways, the goliath drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A goliath would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk have ever meet an elderly goliath, and even those goliaths who have left their people grapple with the urge to give up their lives as their physical skills decay. Because of their risk-taking, goliath tribes suffer from a chronic lack of the experience offered by longterm leaders. They hope for innate wisdom in their leadership, for they can rarely count on a wisdom grown with age. History Subraces Stone Goliath Stone Goliaths, known also as Steinhjerten, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from stone giants. They are remarkably tough, and well-adapted to mountain life. Cloud Goliath Cloud Goliaths, known also as Naarskye, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from cloud giants. They have an innate attunement to the magic of their forefathers' airy domain. Fire Goliath Fire Goliaths, known also as Ildblud, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from fire giants. They are a militaristic race, with plentiful formal martial training and strict leadership hierarchies being integral parts of their tribal societies. They also have a rich tradition of storytelling, typically through singing tales of great battles past. Frost Goliath Frost Goliaths, known also as Isekriggen, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from frost giants. They are fierce and hardy in battle, and they take pride in their scars and grisly trophies taken from their fallen enemies, which they fashion into armour, weapons, and jewellery. They respect brute strength above all and as such, routine challenges of leadership are a regular part of their culture as they wrestle to exert their dominance. Hill Goliath Hill Goliaths, known also as Haugsovven, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from hill giants. They are a calmer breed of goliaths, known for their tendency to doze off in broad daylight atop whatever hill they find themselves on. On the other hand, they are also prone to fits of violent destruction, especially when they realise someone has tried to deceive them or make a fool of them. Storm Goliath Storm Goliaths, known also as Tuvaren, are goliaths who derive their giant blood from storm giants. Their name, meaning "storm thieves", is an allusion to the belief that storm giants were too proud to willingly create lesser, humanoid offspring and too powerful to be forced to, so they were magically subdued and had their blood stolen. Storm goliaths prefer a life of isolation where they contemplate the events of the world-past, present, and future-as well as the meaning of their existence. Still their rich history of prophecies and omens drives many to a life of adventure, seeking out truth and answers. Properties Stone Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Natural Athlete. You have proficiency in the Athletics skill. * Stone's Endurance. You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. * Powerful Build. You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift. * Mountain Born. You're acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You're also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master's Guide. Cloud Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Wisdom score increases by 1. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Atmospheric Arcana. You know the ''light ''cantrip. When you reach 3rd level, you can cast the ''fog cloud spell as a 1st-level spell once with this trait. When you reach 5th level, you can cast the ''misty step ''spell once with this trait. You regain the ability to cast theses spells with this trait when you finish a long rest. Wisdom is your spellcasting ability for these spells. * ''Gentle Descent. At the end of a fall, you only take 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 20 feet you fall, rathern than every 10 feet. In addition, you do not land prone, even if you take damage from the fall. Fire Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Charisma score increases by 1. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Legacy of War. You learn one manoeuvre of your choice from among those available to the Battle Master archetype in the fighter class and can use it once with this trait. For the purposes of using this manoeuvre, your superiority die is a d4 (this die does not add to any superiority dice you have from another source) If the manoeuvre requires your target to make a saving throw to resist its effects, the saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Strength or Charisma modifier (your choice) You regain the ability to use this manoeuvre with this trait when you finish a short or long rest. * Master Metallurgist. You have proficiency with artisan's tools (smith's tools). * Fire Resistance. You have resistance to fire damage. Frost Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Constitution score increases by 1. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Glacial Fortitude. When you fail a Constitution saving throw, you can re-roll the save and must use the new roll Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. * Tanner. You have proficiency with artisan's tools (leatherworker's tools) * Cold Resistance. You have resistance to cold damage. Hill Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, your Constitution score increases by 1, and your Intelligence score is reduced by 2. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Superior Slumber. When you finish a long rest, you regain all expended hit dice, rather than half your total number of them. * Rampage. As a bonus action, you can go on a rampage, which lasts for 1 minute. While on a rampage, when you roll damage for a melee weapon attack using Strength, your Strength modifier is doubled. In addition, at the start of each of your turns while on a rampage, roll a d10. On a roll of 1, you use all your movement to move within reach of a random creature within 30 feet and then use your action to make a melee weapon attack against it. If there are no creatures that you can reach within 30 feet, you instead take the Dash action and use all your movement to move in a random direction. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a long rest. Storm Goliath * Ability Score Increase. Your Strength score increases by 2, and your Intelligence score increases by 1. * Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet. * Storm Strike. You can use your action to conjure a bolt of pure lightning in your hand and hurl it at a point you can see within 120 feet. Each creature within 5 feet of that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. The DC for this saving throw equals 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier. A creature takes 2d6 lightning damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The damage increases to 3d6 at 6th level, 4d6 at 11th level, and 5d6 at 16th level. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. * Tempestuous Resilience. When you take lightning or thunder damage, you can use your reaction to cast absorb elements as a 1st-level spell once with this trait. Once you use this trait, you can't use it again until you finish a short or long rest. Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for this spell Category:Races Category:History Category:Culture & Society __FORCETOC__